Chapter 122 : The Knight & The Princess (Part 4)

Around 10 minutes ago.

'Kiritsuka!...Kiritsuka!'

Rei was unconscious for a moment but he heard someone calling his name.

"Crimson! Wake up Crimson! Oi!"

Another person called him out, and Rei suddenly opened his eyes.

"Crimson!"

He saw Fang, and Lena who stood beside him and was still in the process of healing his wounds.

"Fang?...Why..." Rei looked around, "...are you here?" He could see the others were also surrounding him.

"What happened?..." Rei tried to speak but he coughed out blood.

"Ugh—" At the same time he felt stinging pain still in throughout his body.

"Hey! Don't push yourself!" Fang was worried of him, "You suffered internal damage, so it must be really hurt—"

But...

*THUD*

Rei immediately grabbed Fang's collar shirt, "Where is Iris! We must help her!"

Fang was stunned for a moment, instead trying to rest, this man before him trying to get up after receiving that kind of damage.

"Iris-san...ummm, she is currently fighting that person." But Fang still answered him.

"Then what are we waiting for...we must help her now!" Rei tried to get up from where he was laid down but when he was about to stand, his legs gave out.

"Huh—!" And that surprise him.

"Crimson!" All of them became even more worried as they saw him in this state.

'Huh? I...cannot move?' Rei asked himself, 'Come on...move...move!'

Rei raised his hand and slammed it on his legs.

"Come on! Move!" He spoke his inner thoughts aloud.

Seeing that state, Fang couldn't bear it,

"Crimson! Stop! Don't push yourself!" Fang warned him at the same time trying to stop him.

But he was stubborn, "But we must help Iris! She is in danger!"

Fang couldn't understand his intentions, neither to them.

"Calm down, Crimson, we don't know what you are talking about here, Iris-san is alright since she is strong—" Fang tried to explain.

"You got it wrong!—" Rei cut him off, but something was strange...

"This isn't about her being strong!—" His tone and voice changed all of sudden.

As if someone already replaced him.

"That man..." His right golden eyes began to shine, "That man is stronger than you all think.." Ray spoke

But one man still trying to understand his attention and he know Iris more than anyone here.

It was Albert who approached him, "Crimson...what are you talking about."

But then, Ray hesitated as he suddenly realized something. "Uhhhh..."

'No, what am I thinking...if I make them get involved, they're all gonna be killed by him.' Ray thought.

"Crimson, we need an answer—"

*BOOM*

But Albert's words were cut off by a loud noise.

"—What was that?!"

Their eyes went in the direction of the explosion, further into the forest.

.

.

.

.

.

*SWOOSH*

"Is that...." Ray muttered as he saw a glimpse of her jumping in mid air with someone.

*TING*

As they clashed together with one man, it appear to be a little girl fighting together with some sort of black armored monster in mid air.

"...Iris?"

He suddenly remembered the thing that he saw before he passed out, 'That...the [Death Knight].' He couldn't see them any longer and could only hear the sound of their fighting from afar.

'Even she had [Death Knight] on her side...it won't be enough.'

'I must go there...to protect her! This time!'

But Ray still trying to move his feet but...he couldn't as if something shackled his legs.

[I need strength].

'If I have her power, if I had become strong that shortly with that power I could…'

[Why don't I have that kind of power?]

.

.

.

.

.

As the question turned into...

Jealousy.

[I am jealous of her to have that power].

"...?!"

He widened his eyes when he suddenly realized that he shouldn't say those things.

'No...what am I thinking.'

'I know you are trying to protect me....and I know I shouldn't say those things.' Ray couldn't help but feel guilty now, for thinking about such a thing.

'Houston.' Rei, who watched him from his side, couldn't help but sympathize with him.

Then suddenly...

.

.

.

.

.

.

they felt something.

"...?!"

A sudden pressure suddenly enveloped them.

Ray saw it, 'What…is this?...'

Someone released a large aura, along with something else.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Something dangerous.

"No..." The moment he recognized it, an image within his memories and Rei's came into his mind.

"Don't..." Ray muttered.

[It's an image of a woman that was surrounded by monsters as she bravely faced them off].

"Please..."

Ray begged them as the others wouldn't listen to him and were still staring at that source of the huge aura.

[There's a burned scar on her cheeks and eyes. But she's still the most beautiful woman in my eyes].

"Please...! Help her...." Ray continued to beg and grabbed onto Fang's sleeves.

"Crimson?..."

As he couldn't help but remember about that time.

[At that moment, she smiled in such joy while those monsters swarmed at her].

[Then she looked at me].

The image of her flashed across his mind as Ray tried to crawl in that direction.

"Move...!"

[Now I remember...it was the day when I lost you...

.

.

.

.

.

[Iris].

"Iris!!!"

And at that moment, a large blast could be heard.

*BOOM*

An explosion that was strong enough to cause the ground to crack and created large fissures, sending them flying away, and the gust of wind that followed after blew away the trees around them, including Ray and the others.

They were overwhelmed by this unknown force that was released by the man who fought Iris.

.

.

.

.

.

.

After a while, the blast finally calmed down.

They could see the trees around them fell down, luckily no one was injured.

But the only thing they felt from that sudden strike was…

Fear and bewilderment.

It was a strength that out of this world, their body couldn't help to tremble as they couldn't move.

"Iris!"

But of course Ray was the one who still tried to move despite the injuries he received.

Together with Silvi and Harson who already ran in that direction, followed by Albert.

"We're coming Iris!"

While the rest of the Adventurers team remained still because of what they just saw.

"Iris!"

But the fear suddenly stop after hearing someone who still called her out.

What made them stop feeling fear was...because of this one man who surprised them by continuing to crawl to save a girl who basically didn't have any relation to him.

Yes...it was their leader, Crimson(Ray).

The thoughts of him were too many to count at this point, so many question that still remain mystery to them regarding about him.

Starting from how he did not back down against something that was scarier and bigger than him.

There was one question appeared in their thought at the same time as they all remembered some things that they had been going through together for the past few months.

[Why does he always try to solve things alone and sacrifices himself].

.

.

.

.

.

.

Andrew recalled the time he fought against the Black Ogre alone and killed it in one hit.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Fang remembered when they were on a quest to subjugate Basilisk and their leader fought that monster alone.

.

.

.

.

.

.

That one time when he solved the problem with that criminal adventurer who did evil deeds.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Also that time he killed all the Demon Cult underlings and prevented any bloodshed from his comrades.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Finally from the recent event where he fought against a giant serpent that was told that could swallow the world and evolved into Dragon.

He kept on fighting alone, again and again.

Without stopping as he grew stronger.

But many scars were left on his body, as if he had little care about his well being as long as he could win.

He was the one who kept moving forward more than anyone else, trying to protect them from the wicked world.

And...

.

.

.

.

.

Knowing that made them angry.

"Grrr..." Fang gritted his teeth seeing his leader continued to crawl at Iris' direction.

So he decided to take a step forward this time.

Andrew saw him, and did the same, and it didn't take long for the others to follow him one by one.

"Crimson, please do not exert yourself...we will deal with that man alone." Fang spoke as he walked past him and facing the most dangerous being that await them.

Ray suddenly widened his eyes the moment he heard those words as they all left him to follow Iris' servants and her brother.

[Ahhh...those are the words that I always hated the most].

["Don't worry, everything will be fine."]

["Just go! I will handle them myself!"]

[or "I shall protect you even it cost my life"]

The words coming from the people he cared most...

[They said that...but they still died before my eyes].

Ray grabbed his chest, his tears welled up and dripped down as he felt this feeling that always seems to come...

Frustration... Despair... and Hopelessness...

...whenever he's in this kind of situation.

[Even though I have become strong with Kiritsuka...but I still couldn't catch up with that monster].

[What do I need to do to fight that kind of monster!?].

As a question popped out, he realized something.

It was a pretty simple thought yet no one could ever think about it.

Rei, who watched over this desperate man, knew what he's thinking.

The same thing that he thought when he had to take his first blood.

[Yes...why didn't I think about it?]

[To beat a monster like that...you need to become...]

[A monster more than any kind of monster].

Such wicked thoughts come to mind.

[A monster that is more horrible, vicious and stronger than that monster].

As his body surrounded in black flames.

[If it can protect the people I care about...]

.

.

.

.

.

This time, their minds were in sync.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[I'll gladly become a monster myself].

'Kiritsuka...' Ray called him out.

'I know what you are thinking.' Rei just simply answered him.

Ray turned around to look at his partner who was watching from his side.

'I'm sorry for this selfish request of mine.'

'You don't have to worry, since this body originally belongs to you.' Rei answered him.

'But you...'

'Did you forget? Heh, to think your old age had made you forgetful.' Rei joked about it.

'Can't believe you're cracking a joke in this situation.' He grumbled but that made Ray smile.

'So? What are we waiting for?' Rei offered his hand with a smile on his face, 'Shall we save our princess?'

Ray chuckled, 'Yeah...'

He shook Rei's hand

*******

[Let's save our Princess together].

Back to the current time.

Ray was face-to-face with Kajia who backed away from his sudden appearance.

[Notice!]

[Skill "Persona" has been activated]

His two different colored eyes shined without being hidden with his helmet because the durability wore off and it broke down.

And that shocked everyone.

'That's...how Crimson looked like?'

Fang always knew that even though Rei hid his face but sometimes…when he ate, he could slightly see his lower face, and he knew that Rei was young.

'But I didn't think he was that young.' Fang thought.

Just from his face, he already looked younger than Andrew. But despite that, he had the body of a grown man.

"So...that is how you look huh?~" Kajia began to speak as his hand was almost burnt by that black flame that was clad around his body.

Meanwhile, Iris remained in shock to see the man who she knew all too well, came to her rescue.

[Just like a knight in shining armor].

"Ray...Houston." Iris called his full name.

Then he turned his face around, wearing...the same smile he always showed her.

"It's been a while...Iris-san." The way he called her so politely…reminded her of their first meeting.

"I'm sorry for meeting you in this state."

Ray was the one who spoke to her now.

'That way of talking...that tone...that smile, how can it be.'

"Ray...are you really, Ray?" Iris kept asking as her face began to turn red and wet with tears.

"Yes, it's me—"

"Hey! Where are you looking at!—"

Suddenly Kajia appeared right in front of him within a short moment.

*BAM*

Then struck Ray right in the face, which caused a strong blast and created a large wind and dust.

"Ray?!" Iris called him out.

*TSSSS*

But when the dust cleared up, Kajia found his fist to be stopped by Ray's sword that he took out and lifted up to block his fist.

"This is—..."

*SWOOSH*

Kajia immediately pulled back his fist when the sword was enveloped with black flame.

"Huh—"

*SWOOSH*

But something approached Kajia's left eye, but as it was about to hit him, Kajia managed to bend his body to his back and this thing passed through, forcing him to back off towards where he stood before.

That was when he found out.

Something was very unusual with Ray.

"Ohhh~ this is quite interesting~"

Ray was holding two things in his hands...

A sword on the right hand.

And a spear on his left hand.

[Notice!]

[Skill "Dual Wield" has been activated!]

'What is this...strength, compared from before...he is much more—'

'Stronger!—'

Kajia and Iris thought the same as they couldn't help but became curious.

[What just happened a few minutes ago].

Especially...

'What kind of state is that?' Iris asked herself as she looked at Rei's body that was being enveloped with black flame.

The same flame that almost killed him before.

*TSSSS*

A burnt scent could be smelled.

Iris widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Ray...are you..."

Kajia smiled widely, "What a mad man you are! To think you use those black flames that could kill you..."

"All over your body!"

[Yes...this is my resolve].

[Notice!]

[Skill "Pain Resistance" has been activated].

They could see that black flame on Ray's body not only protected him, but also injured him since his skin slowly but surely got burnt by the flame.

'Skill...[Armor of Flame : Agni]'

=======================================

[ Armor of Flame : Agni]

Active Skill

MP Cost : 0

Cooldown: 120 sec.

Maintain the skill: -10 HP/1 sec.

The skill allows the user to cast flames on the user's body, and it took the name of a certain god from the Middle East region. With this, it could block and attack the user's enemy when it came in contact with the flame. Using this skill increases +50% Vitality and +50% Strength. (Also reducing damage taken by 50%)

***(Warning: this skill use HP to maintain the skill, so be careful)***

=======================================

'To think we acquired a buff skill...with this, the gap has been shortened.' Rei spoke while their HP slowly diminished due that skill.

'But before that...Houston.'

'Hm?'

'Switch with me for a bit.'

Then, he immediately turned around to look at someone.

"Fang! While his red eye glowed this time.

Fang, who was already getting up, straightened up his body at his call.

"Tell the others to retreat, and get Iris away from here." Rei spoke.

Fang widened his eyes, along with Iris who heard him.

"What...are you insane?!" Fang spoke while knowing what he meant now.

"I'm not that insane yet."

"Of course you are! Do you think we would leave you—"

"—Fang!" Rei cut off his words.

"Please...this is my request, you already knew the one who fought against this monster...is me." Rei spoke while facing Kajia again.

Fang looked at his back wordlessly, but that was the truth.

Not even Iris could win against Kajia and that was after she fought him.

And of course everyone here would die if they tried to fight against that.

But what about him? He already proven that he made that man back away twice, after blocking his attack and countering him with his weird black flame.

And Fang knew that. He needed to make a decision which could lead to regret in his life.

Fang bit his lip, "You told us...that as long as we fight together, we could win."

Rei didn't look back at him as he muttered, "I'm sorry...you guys are on the way." and harshly said that to them.

Fang gritted his teeth after hearing it, "Kugh—you guys heard him right?! We must retreat." and immediately ordered them.

Of course they heard him well. They thought the same, who in their right mind wanted to leave their benefactor who led them to this point.

In the end, they couldn't stand on his side, if they stayed they would be nothing more than a dead weight to him.

Not only that, they were still far away from home and the journey itself was not easy.

They all stood up while also helping each other so they could walk.

Rei didn't turn around or look at them, but he was smiling

'I am proud of you.' Rei thought as he switched with Ray.

Then Ray walked forwards, took out two bottles of potion, then sprayed it on two bodies that still remained on the ground, Silvi and Harson.

The potions healed them up and they sluggishly got up after that.

"You..." Silvi spoke while Harson looked surprised to saw Ray.

"I am counting on you...take good care of your master." Ray replied while walking past them and this time he went face to face with Kajia again.

Silvi and Harson couldn't help but grit their teeth, as they realized they couldn't be of much help to him at all.

Their strength wasn't enough to fight against Kajia, so they stood up and bowed their heads to Ray.

"Please don't die...sir Ray, Ojou-sama will be sad." Silvi reminded him.

But Ray simply waved his hand while holding a sword.

Then Silvi and Harson immediately grabbed Iris and Albert.

"Silvi...Silvi! Please stop him!" Iris shouted and begged, she couldn't move as she was being carried by Silvi.

Iris squirmed around in her arms, trying to reach Ray who got farther and farther away from her hand.

"No!! I have so many things to say! Please...stop him! Stop! Silvi!"

But Silvi didn't respond to her words.

"No...I don't want to lose anyone again! I don't want to lose him! Ray! No...Ray!!!"

As she screamed many times, Ray didn't respond as they walked into the forest.

Iris saw a glimpse of him turning his head and smiled at her with his two different colored eyes which glinted as he spoke.

"Thank you~"

His voice mixed together with Rei, wearing a familiar smile that Rei always showed yet similar to what Ray shown.

And within Iris...

.

.

.

.

.

.

...something reacted.

"Rei-kun?"

Yomi answered,

*TAP*

Everything went black, and Iris fell unconscious due to Silvi hitting her neck.

"I'm sorry...Ojou-sama."

Leaving Ray to fight against Kajia alone.

To be continued…